Taslima, a physician, a writer, a radical feminist, human rights
activist and a secular humanist.

'If any religion allows the
persecution of the people of different faiths, if any religion
keeps women in slavery, if any religion keeps people in
ignorance, then I can't accept that religion.'

'Humankind is facing an uncertain future. The probability of new
kinds of rivalry and conflict looms large. In particular, the
conflict is between two different ideas, secularism and
fundamentalism. I don't agree with those who think the conflict
is between two religions, namely Christianity and Islam, or
Judaism and Islam. After all there are fundamentalists in every
religious community. I don't agree with those people who think
that the crusades of the Middle Ages are going to be repeated
soon. Nor do I think that this is a conflict between the East
and the West. To me, this conflict is basically between modern,
rational, logical thinking and irrational, blind faith. To me,
this is a conflict between modernity and anti-modernism. While
some strive to go forward, others strive to go backward. It is a
conflict between the future and the past, between innovation and
tradition, between those who value freedom and those who do
not.'